‘Solo’: How to Stream Every Lando and Chewbacca Appearance at Home

The release of Solo: A Star Wars Story fills another gap in the Star Wars mythology. The down and dirty adventure flick not only explores the decades between the rise of the Empire and the destruction of the first Death Star, it zeroes in on one character that fans still don’t know a lot about: Han Solo. Where is he from? Where’d he get that ‘tude, and how’d he land that sick ride? This Star Wars Story will answer those questions–but I’m not here to talk about Han!

That’s because Han ain’t the only character getting a backstory upgrade in Solo. The scruffy-lookin’ scoundrel’s best buds Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian also get some attention in the new film, but unlike Han, we’ve actually seen bits of their origin story before!

Solo slots into an even tinier gap when you look at what we’ve already seen of Chewie and Lando’s lives before the original 1977-1983 Star Wars trilogy. There are official Star Wars releases that you could (and should!) watch before and after Solo in order to get the whole story. But where does the new movie fit in? And what do we already know about that Wookiee and that smiling smuggler? Read ahead and plan your Solo viewings accordingly!

'Star Wars: The Clone Wars,' "Wookiee Hunt" (3x22)

Netflix

Thanks to the wonderfully twisty Star Wars continuity, the earliest Chewbacca appearance aired 34 years after he debuted! In 2011, decades after we all met Chewie for the first time in 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, an episode of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars included the earliest in-canon appearance of everyone’s favorite Wookiee.

Set roughly 20 years before the events of A New Hope, the episode “Wookiee Hunt” introduced Chewie in a tragic yet spectacular fashion. The mighty Chewbacca was the sole prisoner of a group of Trandoshan hunters who intended on letting him loose in an alien moon’s jungle to hunt him for sport. But before the reptilian villains could start their most dangerous game, Chewbacca got busted free by Jedi-in-training Ahsoka Tano. Chewbacca teamed up with Ahsoka and her fellow Jedi trainees and defeated the hunters.

'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'

Lucasfilm

Chewbacca’s interaction with Ahsoka and the Jedi kicked off a loose partnership with the Republic, one that can be seen in the 2005 movie Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. This movie picks up a few months, maaaaaybe a year, after that episode of The Clone Wars, and it finds Chewie pretty high up with the Wookiee military. Chewbacca is side by side with Wookiee general Tarfful and spends most of the battle of Kashyyyk protecting Yoda. As a matter of fact, it’s Chewbacca that helped Yoda escape the Jedi purge alive by helping the Jedi master evade the clone troopers ordered to kill him.

'Solo: A Star Wars Story'

Photos: Everett Collection

No spoilers!

The latest movie in the franchise, Solo: A Star Wars Story, picks up at some point not long after the events of Revenge of the Sith and the Empire’s rapid ascension. The film shows the titular character (that’s Han Solo, played by Alden Ehrenreich), meeting his soon-to-be best bud Chewbacca as well as one other major player: Lando Calrissian.

Similar to Chewie’s winding timeline, Lando’s debut as seen in Solo comes 38 years after Billy Dee Williams first brought the character to life in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. This time he’s played by Donald Glover, quite possibly the only man alive today that’s as smooth as Billy Dee.

We’ll leave details about how Han meets these two and where Solo leaves them a mystery, but we actually know a little more about what happens to one of these guys in-between Solo and the original Star Wars trilogy…

'Star Wars Rebels,' "Idiot's Array" (1x11)

Disney NOW

Four years before the events of A New Hope, which is also seven years before the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Lando Calrissian (voiced by Billy Dee Williams) ran into a ragtag crew of heroic outlaws in the Star Wars Rebels episode “Idiot’s Array.” After besting Rebels bruiser Zeb Orelios in a hand of Sabacc, Lando won the crew’s feisty astromech droid Chopper. Lando agreed to give the droid back to his rightful owners if they helped him smuggle cargo past an Imperial blockade. The self-proclaimed “galactic entrepreneur” continued to charm and manipulate the crew in a series of smooth moves (the only moves Lando knows how to make) that angered a blustery alien crime-lord.

Things turned out all right in the end, as Lando always stays one step ahead of everyone around him, and he became an unlikely ally for the crew. In the season 2 premiere “The Siege of Lothal,” Lando made a quick appearance via hologram where he agreed to help the Rebels escape from the occupied planet.

'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope'

This is where it all began, with one young auteur director’s slam-bang love letter to fast cars and the sci-fi serials of the 1940s. This is also where 1977 audiences first met Chewbacca, as played by gentle giant Peter Mayhew. The bowcaster-toting walking carpet (at least that’s how one snarky princess described him) first appeared in the cantina at Mos Eisley spaceport, when a stuffy old wizard and a naive farmboy hired the Wookiee and his smuggler pal Han. But that escort mission to Alderaan kicked off a chain of events that would sweep Chewie and Han into the war between the Empire and the Rebellion.

'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back'

Everett Collection / Everett Col

Chewbacca’s journey continued into the 1980 sequel The Empire Strikes Back, which saw the Millennium Falcon crew take on two extras (Princess Leia and C-3PO) during the frantic escape from the Rebel base on the ice planet Hoth. This quirky quartet sought shelter with one of Han’s old pals. Re-enter: Lando Calrissian. Billy Dee Williams made his debut as the charismatic character in this film, only to be revealed to be part of one of the most upsetting swindles in Star Wars history.

'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi'

Everett Collection / Everett Col

The original Star Wars trilogy closed out with what was intended to be the last ride for the entire gang. Chewbacca joined Han’s strike team on the forest moon of Endor on a mission to deactivate the new Death Star’s defenses. Meanwhile, Lando–now a general in the Rebellion–led the dogfight against the Imperial fleet from the cockpit of his old ride, the Millennium Falcon. What was supposed to be the last chapter in the Star Wars saga turned out to be merely the closer of one trilogy, although this film is still Lando’s last appearance (so far).

'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens'

Photo: Lucasfilm

You can’t keep a good Wookiee down! 30 years after the stunning finale of Return of the Jedi, Han and Chewbacca returned home to the Millennium Falcon in The Force Awakens. But this would prove to be the hardest chapter in Chewbacca’s already not-that-easy life, as tragic events would see his partnership with Han give way to a new one with the optimistic Jedi-in-training Rey.

'Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi'

The Last Jedi, which picked up immediately after the events of The Force Awakens, gave Chewbacca (now played by Joonas Suotamo) possibly the least to do since his brief appearance in Revenge of the Sith. But still, if you wanna see Chewie’s reunion with Luke Skywalker, his contemptuous relationship with the porgs, and one more of his daring last-minute rescues, then close out your viewing with this triumphant installment.

TIMELINE

Just to make everything clear, always a complicated proposition when dealing with Star Wars canon, here’s a timeline of everything mentioned above. Note:Star Wars divides its timeline as BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin, when the first Death Star was blown up in 1977’s Star Wars) and ABY (After the Battle of Yavin).